Some say the 21st of December is the first day of Winter. But, mountain people know that Winter comes when it damn well feels like it. This year, it came early and came with a vengeance. Along with it came one of the biggest blizzards I have ever seen, and it continues to happen. It felt like Winter was on full celebration mode today, bringing us a foot of fresh overnight and several more inches falling during the day.

The line for the opening of the Silver Queen, for those wanting to enjoy Winter’s gifts to us.

The skiing was oh-so-good!

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Powder day 3 began with 8 inches of fresh Whistler-like dense powder. While some other Colorado ski-towns complained of rain, our high 9400′ elevation was an advantage. We were hammered with 8 more inches as we skied throughout the day. The dense snow was difficult to ski on low-angle terrain, but it was fantastic on the steeps. West-Wall was good today…

Can you find Frank?

We caught the 2-run opening of Horseshoe today and it wall all-time. I couldn’t have asked for two better runs! Unfortunately, it was just too fun to take time for pictures

Upon arriving home, we decided to dig out our cars which were buried under an easy 3-feet of snow. Perhaps it was all-for-nothing as the blizzard continues to pummel us with endless amounts of snow.

From NOAA: CONFIDENCE REMAINS HIGH THAT THIS STORM IS AN EPIC AND IT HAS BEEN MANY YEARS THAT A SIMILAR WINTER STORM OF THIS MAGNITUDE HAS STRUCK
THE WESTERN SLOPE. MANY MOUNTAIN VILLAGES HAVE BEEN BELOW THE RAIN SNOW LINE…LIKE ASPEN…VAIL…AND TELLURIDE. CRESTED BUTTE IS ABOVE THE RAIN SNOW LINE AND THE SNOW CONTINUES TO PILE UP AT THAT LOCATION. EXCEPT FOR A POTENTIAL LULL (AND I DO NOT NECESSARILY MEAN AN ABSOLUTE BREAK…LULL ONLY MEANS THE SNOWFALL RATES WILL ABATE) ON TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY MORNING…THE SNOW WILL CONTINUE TO POUND THE MOUNTAINS AND IT WILL BE RELENTLESS.

Looks like another pow day is in store for tomorrow!

Today we woke up to powder day #2. While today’s powder was half of what we had yesterday and was considerably more dense, it was still another good pow-day.

It’s a big storm. Joel Gratz of the Colorado Powder Forecast agrees. He even featured one of Frank’s photos of me from yesterday on today’s forecast!

His forecast is calling for the “biggest storm ever”. There are 6 days of snow predicted and the majority of that snowfall will be hitting around Crested Butte and the San Juans, ranging from 31 to 61 inches total…

According to NOAA: THE CONSEQUENCES ARE SIGNIFICANT AND PRONOUNCED AS THE CURRENT WEATHER PATTERN IS EVOLVING INTO A WINTER STORM OF EPIC PROPORTIONS…SNOW WILL BECOME HEAVY AND RELENTLESS AND COULD BECOME NONSTOP THROUGH TUESDAY. CONFIDENCE IS VERY HIGH THAT THIS STORM WILL PRODUCE SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNTS OF SNOW THAT OCCURS EXTREMELY RARE…PERHAPS OF EPIC PROPORTIONS. BUT THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT SUBSTANTIAL SNOW WILL IMPACT GUNNISON COUNTY AND CONCEIVABLY THE AREAS SURROUNDING AND INCLUDING CRESTED BUTTE THAT COULD RECEIVE 6 TO 8 FEET FOR A STORM TOTAL BY THURSDAY.

As I sit here and write this, I am watching snow fall in plumes out my window, smelling the delicious Thia-style chili we have roasting in our crock pot, and listening to enormous slides falling off the roof. The tourists love it. And we locals love it too I can’t wait for tomorrow!

Nothing is better than waking up to the silence of nickel-sized snowflakes falling to the ground. In the absence of wind, you can smell the sweet wetness carried in each flake. I love snow. It’s no secret. And this morning was a snowy kind of morning.

The resort reported 5 inches at 5 am. But, nickel-sized snowflakes add up quick. The pow-cam said 11 inches at 8:30. Lifts open at 9.

You could feel the excitement emanating from every person in the lift line. The first big pow-day of the year. Hoots and hollars were everywhere. Beards were caked in white. Smiles were abound. Friends who couldn’t keep up were dropped. And the snow felt like a lot more than 11 inches.

More pics from our blower day here.

There’s more snow on the way. The forecast doesn’t seem to call an end to it. My car is buried under two feel of snow. And the Avy had people in ski boots at 8pm. I’ll take it

One of the huge advantages of living in Crested Butte is the access to skiing at the ski area, both day and night. During the day, skiers ride the lifts, of course. But, in the early morning or in the evenings, there are quite a few skiers who choose to “earn their turns” by skinning up the mountain and ski back down. I admit that it is very refreshing to be able to strap on my skis and skins for an hour or two after work! The sunsets are always amazing too

Here in Crested Butte we are lucky to have this access, as it is not allowed at many other ski areas. However, there are a few restrictions. Because of this, people wishing to access the ski area before or after hours need to go to the season’s pass office and obtain an “uphill pass”. It’s free. All you need to do is sign a waiver and take home a new pass along with a list of the regulations for uphill after hours use. Most restrictions occur during storm cycles when ski patrollers may be doing control work. To communicate this, the CB Ski Patrol has been doing updates via Twitter.

What better way to get your exercise and some turns in too, all after work? Better yet, it can be done safely- with company or alone- thanks to CB Patrol. So, get out there and enjoy it. I’ll see you on the mountain

Crested Butte ski area is skiing fairly well for early season. Today, the East River lift opened, providing fun terrain to play on. Coverage is descent, although there are still plenty of willows poking through.

Last weekend, Silver Queen lift opened.

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Crested Butte‘s opening day was just this past Wednesday during the tail end of the latest storm. Locals continually repeat that this has been one of the better opening days in many years. There is no “white ribbon of death” this year. Instead, skiers have several runs to choose from- many of which are groomed. But, there’s a few that remain ungroomed and there are also powder stashes to be had if you know where to go.

CBMR’s website is reporting five lifts are open. But, unless you are a beginner, you’ll only be riding two: Red Lady and Teocalli. Between those two lifts and the numerous groomed runs that are open, the slopes seem uncrowded. The lack of crowds and CBMR’s high-quality grooming make the groomed runs actually pretty fun. I truly believe that CBMR has the best grooming in the entire state of Colorado. That being said, the mountain still has a long way to go until the desirable terrain that we love is open. However, the resort is on their game. They are prepping the Paradise lift and Silver Queen lift, and the trails that lead down from them. Rumors are flying, but many say Paradise should open this coming Sunday. It’s been a great November. Hopefully the snow will continue to fly through December too!